Densetsu no Tsukaima no Densetsu
by Iino Dwoe
Summary: Two Alternate worlds… A powerless princess summons a young girl bearing likeness of a deceased friend. A broken soul awakens and meets a young lady who she knew she had killed years ago. Is Halkeginia ready for these two to meet?  Louise x Henrietta
1. Prologue: The Sealed Monster

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either Zero no Tsukaima, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu and any other work that might be used as reference in this story, no matter how much I've altered the elements from them to either fit, balance or because of lack of information.

**Warning:** This work of fiction contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Densetsu no Tsukaima no Densetsu**

_(A Zero no Tsukaima x Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu crossover story.)_

_.  
_

Two Alternate worlds…

A powerless princess summons a young girl bearing likeness of a deceased friend. A broken soul awakens and meets a young lady who she knew she had killed years ago.

Is the continent of Halkeginia ready for these two to meet?

.

**Prologue:** _The Sealed Monster_

_

* * *

_

Zenita, the Labyrinth Dungeon of Stohl, is considered the deepest of all dungeon prisons in the continent of Menoris. It boasts of being the only dungeon in the land where no one has ever escaped from. The most notable part of the Labyrinth was "The Pit", which was an excessively redundant cell located at the deepest depths of the Labyrinth. It has been said that the place was so devoid of light that it drove most prisoners insane in a matter of hours.

But no one needed to worry about being sent there. Currently "The Pit" is home to a monster, a bearer of the Alpha Stigma. Also known as Red Eyed Gods, Insane Devils, Vile Murders and Cannibal Monsters; they are not considered human, only a monster born from one and possess a human form. These harbingers of death and destruction are believed to be best slain before they have the chance of going berserk and that their very existence throws of the balance of life and magic in the world.

Locked inside a cage within a cage within a cage, was a young girl just barely in her teens. Her legs were chained in a way that forced her to kneel and her arms chained far apart in a way that would barely allow her to move. Her eyes were covered with a special mask made with a power of a rule fragment, which prevented her from exhibiting any of the offensive power of her cursed eyes- especially in her weakened state.

She had been kept in this superfluous cage for over a year. But she didn't know that, to her every time she thought that she had just woken up was another day and if she had counted each time it would probably sum up to twenty five years. She had counted it at first, but when she reached a total of a year she stopped realizing the pointlessness of the endeavor.

Usually people like her were killed as soon as they were discovered. The only reason she was still alive was probably because her father is a duke and held more than enough influence to merit such a selfish decision. Although, after spending so much time in this darkness and the torture that comes with it, she had come to wish that he didn't, so that she need not suffer like this. But then again… it could be that the nobles wanted to keep something as dangerous as herself, as if some exotic dangerous animal, simply as a symbol of their power to expand their influences.

But such thoughts had come to bore her. If anything she had these thoughts over a thousand times before. And while it seemed to pass the time, and bare the deafening silence, it was simply- pointless.

Although, the silence was without a doubt a great deal more preferable to the company here.

"Hello there, monster girl. Did you sleep well?" said a deep voice.

It was the one voice that had become quite familiar to her. The owner of the voice sounded like that of a large able bodied middle aged man, who enjoyed having the power over others… a man with no love or remorse. To her this man was more a monster than she was and she had once dared to declare that opinion… long story short, she was speared through her torso five times as punishment. She didn't know how long the owner of the voice had been there, if he had even left or if she was the one who fell unconscious after the last torture… but it did not matter, the novelty of the surprise had long been lost to her. "It's really too bad that you're an Alpha Stigma monster. You would have been quite a fine young lady."

The girl did not bother to answer to his perverse comment or to correct him for his ignorance. She was not a bearer of an Alpha Stigma, the eyes that perceives magical truth, as they believe her to be. Instead she possessed the cursed eyes Iino Dwoe, the eyes that consumed magic and life. But to the ignorant they are one and the same.

If she was to be honest, the only reason she had surrendered herself was for her beloved family. Had she ran away she might have been able to avoid this life of endless days of torture, but if she had then her family would have suffered retribution for her crime. But a year of torment had beaten out all the familial love out of her. And now she thought that if she had known that this was going to be her fate, she would have used her powers to escape earlier while she had the chance of escape or at least die trying. But now… it was simply too late. Her power which people believed was a curse was now a curse to her.

Of all the cursed eyes Iino Dwoe was probably the most practical and dangerous. Of course she could simply be biased. Normally her eyes would allow her to see the worth of living things. On humans this power allowed her to see if a person was intelligent, brave, strong, magical and at time inexplicably evil. It allowed her to consume magic and flesh for her own sustenance and power, and use them as power to perform super human feats. But sealed like it is now, it could only keep her alive and healthy. No matter how much torture she is forced to go through, or how much they try to cut her to pieces, as long as she is shot with some magic or forced to feed on the flesh of dead prisoners her body will restore itself... so long as her eyes were safe.

"I've brought you something special today. Can you guess what it is?" the voiced asked goading her.

She shook her head slowly and was rewarded with a heavy slap on the left side of her face.

"What was that? Let me hear that pretty voice of yours, you know it's too dark to see in here." She knew that he was lying. There was something warmer than body heat in the room and the familiar burnt scent meant that there were some lit torches around. But she also knew that he would hit her sooner or later anyway, so when and how many did not matter anymore.

"No. I cannot." She answered plainly as she masked her emotions.

"Awww… that's no fun. How about I give you a hint?"

She let out a sigh as she resigned herself to play along with his game. "If we really have to…"

"HAHAHAHA! That's the spirit, monster girl!" She heard some clothes rustling, if she had to guess he made a few signals to his subordinates waiting outside the furthest of the prison doors.

A few moments passed and she heard the sound of a gates opening and closing, two pairs of armored boots and a pair of bare feet squeak on the slightly smooth rock brick floor of the dungeon. After the last gate opened and closed she recognized the distinct sound of a female voice. The female sounded to her of someone who was just leaving her teenage years or was already a young woman.

The said female was forcefully tied onto her person. With only her limited sense of touch alone she could barely imagine what the woman might look like, other than that the woman had long damp hair, a supple shapely body and mostly naked if not completely. Moreover being so close allowed the familiar scents on the woman's body to easily assail her sense of smell. The fragrance of daily violation, deadened fear, resigned dampness... the aroma of a broken maiden.

It was times like this that she hated her power the most. Not only did it allow her to eat human flesh, it allowed her to savor flavors and aroma that no normal human could ever taste.

The worst part of this was her torturer had noticed that. He had experimented with it and seemed to have made notes of the results as a form of a sadistic hobby. He knows that if he were to feed her with body parts from untouched people, those who were executed without any form of torture, she had an easier time eating. He knows that if he fed her parts of mutilated corpses, from people killed after days of torture, she would grimace as if she had eaten something horrible and at times throw up. Chopped off appendages were like those untouched, however, chopped off genitalia seemed to give her a sense of ecstasy and would sicken her when she realized what it was. And she would throw up when she was feed only the internal organs, with exception to the heart and the brain.

However, when she was tricked into eating a still living person, the man noted she exhibited signs of pleasure as if she had eaten something so sinfully delicious. Of course when she realized that she had bitten off flesh from still living man, she refused to continue eating… which was a mistake she regretted, because her tormentor decided to torture the man right before her. The man was beaten to the point that he was begging for death, but they wouldn't give it to him even going as far as healing his wounds to prolong the torture. And it only came to an end when he begged her to eat him just as the guards wanted.

And now, it was about to happen again. But unlike that time, to her, the person before her being presented as her meal smelled absolutely delicious. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, which healed in a blinking of an eye, as she could not help her hold back her tears of self-hatred. "…you bastard."

"MWAHAHAHA! Are you angry? You should be happy! We've labored quite hard to prepare this delicious meal for you!" The man laughed heavily, utterly loving her reaction to his "surprise".

"Damn it..." She could do nothing but curse as her mouth watered.

"AH!" The woman let out a cry of pain and pleasure. She felt rhythm movement and quickly realized what was happening. They were violating her meal.

Her mind froze.

Had she really just thought of the woman that had been tied to her person as her food?

She back tracked through her own thoughts and realized that she had. It was then that she knew she was broken. Whatever sliver of humanity she had been holding on to had finally snapped.

She licked her lips and swallowed her salivation. With no hesitation she fumbled for the woman's mouth and locked it with her own. She kissed the woman tenderly at first, lapping up the fluids in her tongue as if it were the sweetest of honey. But as if passion and hunger mixed, the stronger she kissed the tastier the woman became.

Inhibitions began to fade. She bit down on the woman's lip just enough to draw blood and she suckled.

Her mind blanked.

The warm liquid was divine.

Her blood flavored with fear, stress and lust was a heavenly sinful flavor to her… like a wickedly creamy and sweet desert. And she wanted more. She really wanted to devour this woman. She wanted to drink all of her juices and consume all of her meat.

Hesitation was lost... she slowly parted with the woman's lips, her own trailed downwards to the woman's throat. She then found it, a strong pulse, a perfect place to start.

Instinct took over. She opened wide, bared her fangs, and bit as hard as she could. The woman's flesh was punctured and torn as if it was jelly- just as she expected. Her ears had deafened to the woman's scream. She ripped the woman's flesh like a famished beast and she drank the gushing life blood as if it were ambrosia.

She twisted and snapped the woman's neck; ending her misery. But the woman's suffering was not in vain. Their torturers didn't know it, but her powers returning to her. She could feel it with each drop of blood and each sliver of flesh, this meal while not very filling gave her quite a boost in power.

And she was not done yet. She would consume as much as the woman as she could and restore as much of her power. Her gray matter was especially tasty, after being pumped with so much of yearning of men. She sucked for the woman's bile, but instead drank a concoction of men's lust that rejuvenated her powers beyond the seal's ability to hold.

She heard the man's laugh echoing in the darkness. She would have ignored him, but someone took hold of her hair and pulled her away from her meal.

"HAHAHA! So you finally lost it haven't you, Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Valliere?" his voice genuinely happy as he taunted.

Louise turned her head to directly face him and flashed a deranged smile.

"Oh… don't you look delicious…"

**Prologue End**


	2. Chapter One: The Summoning

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either Zero no Tsukaima, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu and any other work that might be used as reference in this story, no matter how much I've altered the elements from them to either fit, balance or because of lack of information.

**Warning:** This work of fiction contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Densetsu no Tsukaima no Densetsu**

_(A Zero no Tsukaima x Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu crossover story.)_

_._

Two Alternate worlds…

A powerless princess summons a young girl bearing likeness of a deceased friend. A broken soul awakens and meets a young lady who she knew she had killed years ago.

Is the continent of Halkeginia ready for these two to meet?

.

**Chapter one:** _The Summoning  
_

* * *

The underground complex of Tristain's Magic Academy is exactly what anyone would imagine it to be. Magically reinforced stone halls, that protect against men, magic and time. Enchanted oil lamps, which light up when it senses the presence of a magician. Warded hallways, that will keep sending intruders the wrong way. And even Libraries, which have books that arrange themselves.

In one of the secret and sealed rooms in the school's underground complex was currently open for a very special occasion. The room itself was perfect circle carved into an extremely large boulder. The inside was of an empty simple design that was to be illuminated by magic instead of torches.

A lone old mage stood near the center of the room, just one step away from the edge of a magical circle engraved onto the stone floor.

Footsteps echoed into the room, reaching the old man's ears, even with the doors closed. He reflected on today's results. Out of ten young mages deemed worthy of summoning, only two had succeeded so far, and only one student left to test her fate.

A little white mouse darted out of his pocket, climbed up his robe and rested on his shoulder with a distinct squeak. The white mouse, Motsognir, has been his familiar for over twenty years. A regular mouse would have long passed away, but the familiar bond rejuvenates the familiar allowing it to live as long as it's master. It was also given the gift of understanding human tongue and allowed it to communicate with him, its master.

This white mouse is the old mage's fourth familiar. His first was a fire dragon that he had hatched himself. He had taken great care of it and bonded it with the "Contract Servant" spell when he entered the academy, long… long ago. His second familiar, however, was different and special, possibly the first of its kind… a summoned creature.

It was all thanks to a foreign looking man who saved his life, however, the man was already gravely injured... he had brought him back to the academy for healing but the man died in the end. In the man's possessions were strange jewels of no particular value, a magical sword that utterly destroyed a two-headed dragon, and a staff that he had later named the staff of summoning. After the man died, he buried the unknown jewels with his body, then had presented the sword to the former king and experimented with the staff, at the time thinking it was a magical weapon like the sword.

After years of experimentation his efforts paid off. With the staff he, and a few of his most trusted colleagues, had summoned familiars that no one had ever seen or read of before. What was more remarkable about the summoned beast was that in many ways it reflected the summoner… as a person and as a mage.

With his success so timely after a war, he volunteered to rebuild Tristain's magical Academy scratch and by default become its new Headmaster. He wanted to give other mages the chance given to him and at first allowed students to use the staff. But he soon realized three dangers of the staff of summoning.

The first danger was that the staff can be used by anyone, but the chance of it not working properly is high when the mage is unfit and unskilled. Death usually results after the staff drains a mage of his or her magical will, which summoning requires a great abundance of and most young mages don't know their limits.

The second danger is that a creature summoned as opposed to a creature raised has a higher probability of being stronger. But that also means the risk of it being wild or unwilling to obey is very high. Quite a few young mages had to kill the summoned creature after they were attacked by it even after the contract was in place.

And the third danger was more a fear for the kingdom's peace. The old mage feared that if a powerful familiar were to be summoned by an irresponsible noble, a war was certainly inevitable.

So he decided to create rules to protect the peace and the interests of Tristain. Firstly, the mage needed to be a Tristainian noble. Secondly, one must have been issued permission by the crown. Thirdly, was that the mage needed to have attended at least two years of the regular three year course of the Magic Academy. And finally, that the mage must have no current familiar and did not kill or allowed a previous familiar to die.

And while the rules he had placed worked most of the time, there were times that a mage of questionable loyalty or moral character passed the screening and summoned successfully. But he knew that making it more difficult would also screen out those that could have been beneficial to the kingdom. There were also a lot of other incidents at the beginning. The staff and all of the restricted research material were subject to a great number of attempted thefts by spies and more often than not, by the students, which then lead to the development of new protocols and magical seals that protected the room that the Staff of Summoning was kept in. That just so happens to be this room that where he was now waiting for the last student in.

* * *

The doors opened revealing a young lady with short royal purple hair. The old mage watched as his student entered the room without a word, her brilliant blue eyes reflected deep concentration and a strong resolve even in the faint magical light.

The doors closed behind her, for at this point only the participant and the ceremonial guide was allowed inside.

She silently walked towards the old mage, who gave her smile that reflected the heart of a man concerned for his charges. "Princess Henrietta, Welcome to the Springtime Summoning Room."

Henrietta curtsied. "Thank you, Headmaster." She said with a smile.

The Old mage sighed. He was worried. It was no big secret that he and all the other professors worried more about a royal child than any other noble charge, for obvious reasons. But his worry for the only princess of the kingdom wasn't political, he had always favored her for her talent and intellect in magic… he didn't wish for such aptitude to be lost before her true potential is realized. Yet, at the same time, he was interested in what such a talented magician could summon. In the end, the young lady's determination and his interest won… he had approved her for the summoning ritual this year.

"Are you ready?"

Soft uncolored lips curved into a knowing confident smile before she answered, "Now more than ever."

Old Osmond held down the urge to chuckle with a grunt, realizing that while his covert actions over the course of the year to delay her chance of summoning were questionable, it didn't go completely beyond notice and was even silently appreciated. Truly a talented person was the young Princess Henrietta. In his heart he silently prayed to the founder, to bless the young lady with protection, good fortune, good allies, a wonderful familiar and a hopefully great friend that hopefully fill the gap in the young princess' heart.

He raised his left hand and presented a beautiful hand crafted ceremonial dagger to Henrietta, who carefully took it with both hands. The old mage then took a few steps to the side, giving his previous spot in the room to his favorite student.

Henrietta stepped forward, glanced down for a moment to right her position before she turned her eyes to the magic circle. She gripped the dagger with her right hand, carefully positioned her left hand just above the magic circle's edge and took a breath to calm her nerves.

In her left hand she began to gather her magical will. She exercised patience and care to keep as much of it there. This feat was usually difficult without a wand or another form of medium, so she was truly glad that she been made to prepare herself more.

Magical will gave a different feeling for each person depending on one's affinity, something that the young student mage had researched in detail. Those most attuned with Fire, claim that they felt roaring warmth whenever they gather will; those of water, a calm coldness; to that of wind, a sense of lightness; and those with earth, an echoing pulse. To Henrietta, however, she felt numb or at times empty. She knew why, but never discuss it with anyone, save to her departed best friend.

An indescribable deadness filled- no- emptied her hand. When the feeling, or lack of which, made her loose her touch in her wrist, she decided it was enough.

She raised the dagger to her outstretched left hand and paused, for a second, and no longer, she grit her teeth and swore to herself that she wouldn't make a sound, and slashed the fate line of her palm with an outward stroke.

Red life blood that was a glow with magic spilled down on the stone floor. The magic circle illumed, now coursing with her magical will.

Osmond took that as his cue. He offered the staff to her with one hand, while the other demanded for the dagger. Henrietta returned the dagger first and paused to look straight into the old mage's eyes, for at this very moment, she now understood why this ritual was so dangerous... dangerous not as theoretical fact, but an experienced truth. She blinked for a second -no -two, and tried to convey a small message to the old mage. 'Please do not worry. I will succeed.'

Henrietta grasped the intricate metal staff with her injured hand, glad that the numb feeling of her magical will had actually deadened her sense of pain as well. She glanced at staff for a moment when it began to radiate with a bright white light, the color of Henrietta's magical will in its purest form, then turned towards the circle again.

She pulled out a spell from her memory. A chant that was special to her not because of what it was set to do, but because of who she wrote it with. The construction of the spell was simple. It had a desired addressee, requirements, a petition and an order. When Henrietta first saw those words on paper, she couldn't help but laugh. But after she helped reword spell and applied theories of modern vocal magic coding, the spell her friend wanted to chant for her ritual was perfect. It was the spell that she was about to use… in dedication to her deceased friend.

"To my friend that exists somewhere in these endless worlds! To the noble, beautiful, and powerful familiar, I, Henrietta de Tristain, implore to you with my whole being as I chant… Answer my guidance!"

At the end of the spell she slammed the end of the staff onto the edge of the magic circle. That action was the trigger for the rule fragment, the Staff of Brimir to eject it all of the will it had collected from Henrietta down to the point where the staff touch the floor.

The magical reagent met with magical catalyst. The circle flashed, overflowing with power. Feeling returned to her hand. Pain sparked through her nerves like bolt, but she endured it and refused to let go of the staff.

They watched as the circle spun around, changed shape, condensed into the center, before it finally exploded into a cylindrical pillar of light. Henrietta knew that there was nothing else she could do to change the result. So she prayed. However, she didn't call to the Founder; instead she called upon her soul of her best friend. She asked her for everything another would have asked the Founder Brimir. She didn't do it out of spite or malice, but because talking to Louise made her feel better.

Old Osmond quietly eyed the princess with eyes full of pride. She was successful in casting the spell and was out of danger, from magic exhaustion at least. He liked to think that he knew the young lady well. But every person keeps secrets. It is a means of protecting oneself. So any darkness lurking in the young princess might cause her to summon something dangerous or uncontrollable. So he readied himself to defend her if needed as he prayed for the best result.

The pillar slowly dissipated like a dying flame and Henrietta's eye caught a glimpse of something inside. She couldn't help but feel ecstatic, for her greatest fear in this ordeal was for nothing to appear. That is why she swore that no matter what came forth, she would take great care of it.

When the magical pillar faded completely, a creature she didn't expect was revealed. She blinked a few times, shook her head and even rubbed her eyes to ensure she wasn't dreaming. She just couldn't believe her eyes… because there, lying on the floor, as if a puppet with its strings cut, was a young girl bounded by chains.

Henrietta carefully approached the girl and was hit with a feeling of familiarity. She made note that the girl's eyes were blinded by an unusual looking half mask. And that she wore tattered clothes that still had some resemblance to expensive robes or possibly it had been a ball gown.

Upon closer inspection, Henrietta noticed that the girl had a familiarly long strawberry blonde hair that made Henrietta feel a little faint in disbelief.

She knelt by the girl's side and laid the staff on the ground beside her, before she gently picked up the girl.

Her eyes darted around, across and over the girl's small form. Nostalgia surged with each familiar feature that her shocked blue eyes graced. The height, the frame, the shape of her nose, the angle of her chin, the form of her lips and even the girl's skin, which although was a bit stained with soot and grime, felt reminiscent in her hands.

'It can't be…?' she thought, a little panicked. '…right? Louise…'

Memories of Louise, sad and painful moments, embossed her vision. The impossibility was clear. 'It can't be.'

But a thought, a possibility, came to her. Only Louise knew, because she had told her and only her, that she might have such a power, the power of the Founder Brimir, the lost element of the pentagram… the Void. She dared not even imagine what it could be like! No matter how miraculous a power it was, no matter how much she wanted to do it… to bring back a person from beyond the grave… was wrong!

Old Osmond, who didn't have a clear view of what was summoned, was relieved that the princess had not summoned something that attacked her out right, just stood back and watched. It was not his place to get between a summoner and their soon to be familiar, unless asked he was of course. In his long, and recorded experiences (because he's getting old and forgetful) of the spring time summoning ritual, a summoned being reacted better to the summoner than a stranger.

The chains rattled and called Henrietta back from her thoughts. Her eyes darted to the girl's half covered face and realized that her thoughts, her delusions, her worry must be unfounded.

This girl, unlike the girl in her heart and memories, was still alive… but only barely hanging on to a sliver of life. Henrietta could feel a very weak pulse, a barely warm and flaccid body, and terribly slow minute breaths. It took a moment for Henrietta to notice that the girl's face was losing color.

She's was dying...

Henrietta didn't know how she drew that conclusion. But she was sure she had to do something, before it was too late.

Then it came to her... the gift of Longevity granted to a familiar by the spell "Contract Servant".

Normally, Henrietta wouldn't condone binding another human being with a familiar contract without their consent. This was because no matter how the familiar feels about its master, it would always feel the desire to be at its master's graces. In other words, the contract influenced the familiar forcing it to become obedient. And she didn't want that… at the very least she wanted to give a human being the chance to refuse becoming a slave.

However! It would take too long to summon a healing mage here. Not that she had any illusions that even the healing magic could do something for this girl at this point. She had no other choice. Besides… she had sworn to herself that she would care for whatever answered her call.

So she gathered her will into small wound on her left hand. Numbness spread as magic gathered. Her life blood glimmered with magic. She smeared that same blood onto her lips, and then chanted her version of the spell.

"Elemental Spirits of Brimir's Pentagon, I, Henrietta de Tristain, ask of you, bless this unfortunate soul, and bind her life with my destiny."

She pushed any hesitation to the back of her mind and met the girl's cold lips with her own.

A chaste kiss between girls… this wasn't. It was not even a practice kiss between best friends. It was an act of subjugation, albeit performed with great reluctance. And, ignoring the shiver a cold tongue induced when it grazed her lips, try as the young princess might to convince herself that she had only done so to save the girl's life, she could not deny that she had become a hypocrite.

She broke the kiss and wiped the remaining blood off her lips with her sleeve. She watched the girl's face and was relieved when color began to return to the girl's half covered face.

But before she could do anything else…

A brilliant bright light flashed and exploded blanketing her vision in a blinding void.

* * *

Louise had long accepted that she was going to die. No, that wasn't right. She had always been dead. Alive… but dead. She didn't really find any point in living… her mind had long melded with the cold darkness that filled her vision.

But all of a sudden... what was this warm feeling on her lips? They had long stopped giving her meals and simply waited for her to die on her own. So why did she taste… blood.

With the last ounce of energy, she willed her tongue out of her mouth to lick her lips and sure it enough it was blood. A blood filled with a flavor she had never savored before. She couldn't put its essence into words. But the feeling it roused… a sweet warmth that touched her heart.

'What is this feeling?'

Power surged through her being filling her with energy. Her heart began to pump harder, wanting to circulate as much of magical force into her almost dead flesh. Heat spread, tempering her body. Strength quickly returned and her consciousness slowly cleared.

She opened her eyes and saw nothing, but the darkness. Then her senses began to work again and she was reminded of the annoying fake rule fragment that bound her power. It was a weak little trinket that wasn't meant for such use, but in her weakened state at the time it was more than enough to seal her completely… but no longer.

With the power that was overflowing through her body she attempted to deconstruct her physical form, but then, she was hit with an unfamiliar kind of pain. Shocking? Crushing? Stabbing? Ripping? Twisting? She lost concentration and canceled her escape. For a moment she thought that mask still had enough of an effect to bind her still, but a voiced deep inside her said that she was only half right.

She decided not to attempt another body translocation for now. And while it was the most efficient way of freeing herself, it wasn't her only option. She still had this fresh magical power in her body that she could release as destructive power.

* * *

The light subsided. But before Henrietta could recover, she sensed movement.

The young girl in her arms had slipped away from her and slowly stood. A small dainty hand rose and grabbed the manacle on the other, and then with a strength that simply looked impossible for a girl of her size, she ripped the restraint off her wrist.

Henrietta just watched her do so, completely at awe. While she considered the need for a skilled earth mage or at the very least a master locksmith, she hadn't thought it would be possible to break such thick metal shackles with a human's strength alone.

Her eyes locked into the girl's busy hand as it destroyed bind after bind with so much ease, until all that was left was the mask that kept her blinded.

The dainty hand gripped the mask and squeezed.

With a loud crack, the mask shattered and revealed the face that the princess was happy, yet dreaded, to see.

"Louise…?" Henrietta gasped with a mix of emotions.

The girl's eyes opened to reveal a pair of rose colored orbs that glowed with a crimson pattern. Those same eyes turned to meet hers and widened in shock.

".inces… e..rie…" the girl weakly mumbled, but Henrietta understood what she had said.

Before the young princess could do or say anything… the unbelievably powerful girl, who made an instantaneous and miraculous recovery, suddenly lost consciousness.

"Louise!" Henrietta, through still unsure of the girl's identity, rushed to her the girl's side. The young princess picked smaller girl up and was about to shake her back to consciousness when realized that girl had only fallen asleep.

The princess let out a sigh of relief.

"Well this certainly is an odd surprise…"

Henrietta nearly jumped when she heard the headmaster's voice, as his presence in this room had completely slipped her mind; fortunately the girl in her arms was heavy enough to keep her right where she was.

"Headmaster…" the princess called with an understandable uneasiness.

Without another word, the old mage walked to her side and looked at the smaller girl in her arms. The resemblance was striking. And although it has been over a year since the unfortunate passing of the third child of the de Vallière family, the girl that the princess had summoned looked exactly like young miss Louise Françoise (given a year and a few months older since they last seen her).

He took off his mantle and placed it over the girl, the rare gentleman's act from him that usually only students ever got to see.

"For now… I think we should slip her into the spare room beside yours."

The princess shook her head. That spare room used to be Louise's room. Henrietta made personal requests to both the school and Louise's family not to keep the room as it was, possibly at least until she graduated. It seemed a bit in poor taste to stick a stranger in her best friend's room simply they might be the same person.

"We'll bring her too my room."

The old mage blinked, surprised, but then understood and nodded, while keeping a secret smile under his long facial hair, a little glad that she had shrugged off his insensitivity.

He brought out his wand and cast the ever useful levitation spell on the girl's body. But then curiously, nothing happened. He tried again, with a little more will this time, only to feel suddenly drained of more will that he had intended.

"Curious…" he muttered.

Henrietta looked at Old Osmond with the same questioning look he gave his wand.

"Is something wrong, Headmaster?"

"Hmm… give me a moment."

The old magican turned to the staff of summoning, cast the same levitation spell and watched as the magic item was slowly raised into the air with his magical will. He positioned it over the center of the magic circle before allowing the spell to dissipate and slowly lowering the item to the floor once more.

"I see now…" He turned towards the princess and said, "We have a new problem…"

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter Two: Of Henriettas and Louises

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either Zero no Tsukaima, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu and any other work that might be used as reference in this story, no matter how much I've altered the elements from them to either fit, balance or because of lack of information.

**Warning:** This work of fiction contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Densetsu no Tsukaima no Densetsu**

_(A Zero no Tsukaima x Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu crossover story.)_

_._

Two Alternate worlds…

A powerless princess summons a young girl bearing likeness of a deceased friend. A broken soul awakens and meets a young lady who she knew she had killed years ago.

Is the continent of Halkeginia ready for these two to meet?

.

**Chapter Two:** _Of Henriettas and Louises_

_

* * *

_

Four days have passed since the springtime summoning ritual. While most of those who failed in their first attempt retired, one student was still unconscious after the draining most of his magical will in a second failed attempt. The resident healing mage had said that it was fortunate that he had a very healthy libido which probably refilled his will just enough, after he was completely drained by the staff, to saved his life.

One of those who succeeded was a second year student like Henrietta. She succeeded in summoning dragon that had been thought to be extinct. The other was an alumni who returned for a third attempt and managed to summon a yellow feathered flightless bird that was the size of a horse. Both of them made appearances to the student body to show the extraordinary creatures.

The Henrietta's success, however, wasn't publicly known at the moment. In fact no one has seen her since she prepared for the ritual two nights prior.

The last person, who mattered, to have seen her was Mr. Colbert, after he carried her familiar on his back to her dorm room in secret. The eccentric fire magic professor wasn't exactly the princess' first choice (not that any of the other teachers were more appealing), but he was the only teacher that had any upper body strength and thus made him her only choice. He was shocked to see her familiar at first and immediately understood why he was asked to swore secrecy, which he has so far kept.

Henrietta had kept to her room, going as far as calling for her personal chevalier and ordering her to post several guards, ones that had enough gull to turn away nobles, by her room's door and by the stairwells. She didn't feel it was quite time to meet any of them because she was still at a loss of how to explain her familiar, a familiar that just so happens to be in a shape of a, known to be dead, noble girl. And although she thought of and considered a number of options, most of them still required that her familiar be awake to talk it through with her.

In the mean time, living the life of a recluse royal student wasn't exactly new to the young princess. Before she had met Louise she would be tutored alone by old specialty mages day in and out, spend time playing alone and even ate alone. Such was the unseen everyday life of a very young princess. She didn't complain then (not too much at least) and she wouldn't complain now.

To pass the time, Henrietta would read or write on her memoir and reviewing books that explained the magical theories of all four elements. But after four days she had run out of things to write and books to read. She considered summoning a maid to watch over the girl she had summoned, however, the girl's inexplicable physical power made her worry enough to keep changing her decision.

She looked at the girl's face, now clean and fresh. She had painstakingly cleaned the girl herself without summoning a maid's assistance. She had done so, mostly, because it gave her something to do, but also to check on a inkling she had about the girl. What she had learned as she cleansed the girl's body was that while her body looked exactly like Louise's... she had lesser amount of blemishes on her body... far lesser. In fact, the girl had none. No old or recent scars. Not a single callus on her. Not a hint of freckles. Nor did her lips dried and cracked. Not even a bit of skin discoloration. She was completely unblemished... except for the familiar's runes on the back of her left hand. The princess pondered if it was an ability gained as a familiar or the effect of her rejuvenation… but either way, such a faultless and enviable body shouldn't be possible.

"..prin…cess…" the girl moaned out with a pained expression on her sleeping face. Henrietta had to watch the girl go through a number of bad dreams and nightmares. She watched her cry, toss, turn, groan, moan, scream and clench the sheets till they almost tore unable to wake or comfort her. It wouldn't have been so bad, if only the girl didn't have her best friend's face.

* * *

The large fire had already consumed half of the castle. With her voice turning hoarse with each shout, Louise called out for help. But there was no one left inside the castle. The guards were the first to flee. The brave, or foolish, among knights inside of the castle were slain. While the servants ran the as soon as their noble employers weren't looking. After all, the nobility has done nothing for the people.

She turned to her only friend, a taller girl (if her legs had still been there), who was lying on the floor now blotched with her own blood.

"Princess! Please hang on!... Please don't give up! Help will be here soon." Louise begged her friend with tears streaming from her eyes.

She watched as the girl's once beautiful face, now marred with a burns and scratches, weakly turned to her and forced a smile.

"Louise... No one is coming…" she said weakly.

Louise forced a smile onto her lips. A smile that she herself knew was clearly unbalanced and twisted by her denial of the reality that was unfolding.

"D-don't be silly! You're the Princess, Henrietta, of course someone is coming."

A bigger lie than this couldn't possibly exist for the two of them. Both of them had relied on it for so long… but that ended when the gravely injured princess softly shook her head and said, "No one is coming."

With those words Louise lost what little composure she had… and wailed. She didn't want her best and only friend to die. And she blamed herself… If only she wasn't so afraid of using her powers… If only she had consumed the magic that started the fire… If only she had eaten one servant… she could have saved Henrietta.

Henrietta gently brushed her hand against her tear stained cheek and called out to her. "Louise…"

"Please don't speak, save your strength."

But the princess ignored her request.

"I need a favor of a life time that probably can't repay."

"I never need repayment! Ask anything! For you I will do anything!"

The princess blessed her with a blissful smile.

"You promise?"

Louise noted that her friend had asked with a hint of mischief. And suddenly realized why... the princess only asked her to promise something when she thought that there was even a remote possibility that Louise might not do it. And every time it happened Louise would bite the lower corner of her lip, hesitate for a few seconds, and…

"Anything… I promise…"

She resisted the urge to cry anew. Deep in Louise's heart she wanted to weep and flee, because she knew what the princess would ask. But she kept still and held her already limited tears, smiled at the girl that made her life livable and waited for her friend to ask what it was she dreaded she'd ask.

"Consume me, escape before the castle falls… and live for my behalf as well."

Of all the people in the world, she was the one person she never wanted to use her powers on. She mattered to her more than her blood family.

But she had promised…

"Al-…al..right..."

"Thank you. Louise Françoise."

Henrietta closed her eyes.

Louise raised her one remaining arm and gently cupped the princess' cheek, having cut the other after it was crushed by the weight of a fallen dresser. Her fingers lingered, wishing that time would just stop forever. But it wasn't meant to be. She closed her eyes and her power to awaken.

When her eyes reopened the truth of all that was had life and magic was revealed to her… and it told her nothing that she didn't already know.

She lowered herself, closing the distance between their bodies.

"Anri…" she whispered the princess' nickname, a name that Louise had given her out of the blue one day, a name that stuck with them… "…forgive me."

The princess' lips almost curled into a disappointed frown, but twisted back into a smile. "You can't do it after all?"

"I can…"

"Then what is there to-hmph"

Louise pushed her lips against hers and kissed her deeply, pouring her heart and soul into one immoral act of intimacy between females. Surprised Henrietta opened her eyes. For a moment life filled the princess' clear blue eyes and reflected from them was the glowing red pattern of the flaming cross inside a magic circle from Louise's rose colored eyes.

She then broke the kiss and just stared for a moment at the princess' surprised face. She bottled her nervousness and showed a façade of shameless contentment.

A moment passed… Henrietta's surprised face turned into one of happiness.

"We'll meet again, Fran."

After hearing her own nickname Louise could only nod in reply.

After gathering her courage and resolve, she used the least painful way of consuming Henrietta.

Alive and whole… living flesh, essence and all…

She watched as her most important person dissolve into a mist of white and black that flowed into her mouth as if it were a vacuum.

Nourishment and power soon filled her allowing her to regenerate her lost arm. She grasped it, like an important treasure before wailing her friend's name.

...everything turned black.

And another nightmare began…

* * *

Just when Henrietta thought the girl would settle down from her nightmare the girl started crying as if she was being tortured. She couldn't bare the sight of her suffering and once again tried to hold her hand while whispering words of comfort, but it did nothing in the end.

A brusque knock rapped her door and jogged the princess out of her thoughts of self-loathing.

It took her a short glace on her timepiece to know just who might be paying her a visit. As it was yet to be midday it couldn't be the new maid that the princess had allowed to bring up her food during her self-imposed isolation. Which meant it could only be the headmaster.

"Just a moment." she answered before she turned to check herself at the mirror. When she found herself presentable, she unlocked and opened the door. As she expected it was the headmaster, although to her surprise he wasn't alone.

"Good Morning, Princess Henrietta. I hope we weren't interrupting you?"

Although old Osmond tried to hide it, Henrietta noticed he had an air of anxiety about him. She found it odd; the old mage had so much experience in life that many often joked that only the founder could possibly scare him. And yet, from the way he grasped his staff and the way he stood said that he brought her serious news.

She then turned to the old magician's company, Mr. Colbert. He seemed just as anxious as the headmaster and he looked like he was ready to fight to protect the book that he held. If she had to be honest, she disliked him. If she had to be painfully honest, her hatred was unbiased. But for now it looked like they both had something very important to tell her.

"Please come in." She opened her door wider to accommodate the elderly professors.

"Thank you. We won't be too long." The old mage entered the room followed by the balding mage who awkwardly bowed multiple times.

Before closing the door, Henrietta turned to check on the guards she had asked to be posted near her door and by the stair well. She gave them a short check. She cast "Magic Detect" discretely to sense if they had been spellbound in anyway. When she found none, she closed the door behind her and relocked it.

She offered them a seat on the lounge chair that she had previously been occupying and her desk chair, while she stood by the corner of the bed.

"So what can I do for you two gentlemen?" Henrietta asked trying to be polite enough, but tried to show enough guard expected of a young woman who allowed men into her bedchamber.

Osmond coughed into his fist in an obvious way and turned to stare at Mr. Colbert. The princess turned to the middle aged teacher with a critical eye that almost made the man jump out of his skin.

He stood from his seat, opened the ancient looking book he had been carrying to a specific page and with the utmost courtesy he offered it to her. "Please forgive my impertinence, you're highness. Four days ago, I saw the mark on your familiar's hand I noticed these rare runes. For some reason they looked familiar, but I couldn't recall where I saw them before until I had found this book."

Henrietta reluctantly received the book and examined it. She first noted that the page illustrated a familiar rune set. Her mind automatically labored to translate the ancient runes written down, while she did a part of her mind allowed her to assess the manuscript. Upon a closer look it was easy to tell that the book was actually an ancient tome, written or possibly transcribed by someone at least four or five centuries ago. It was still in a relatively good condition for an old text, a testament to good book keeping, maintenance and a preservation spell. But when her mind finished translating the text all that thought about the book slipped out of her mind.

"This is… the familiar markings… on this girl…" she muttered out weakly.

"It's the mark of Gandalfr." Osmond declared.

"Gan… dalfr…?" Henrietta echoed in surprise, the shock finally hit on her. The princess sat down on the bed, gracelessly, for her legs had almost given way after such an unforeseen surprise.

How could she not be? Gandalfr was one of the legendary familiars of the founder Brimir. Often referred to as the left hand of god, this powerful familiar was told to have the ability to wipe out an army of one thousand and cannot be defeated by ordinary mages.

Given a moment to collect herself and her thoughts… she had come to realize that it made sense. The girl's amazing strength, her ever healing body, and the power to render magic useless against her. All of these were the qualities of the founder's strongest familiar, Gandalfr.

"Princess? Are you alright?" The old man's voice called the princess back from her thoughts.

The princess didn't look up from the book. "I… I'm… I'm just… overwhelmed." She reread, and retranslated the text over and over to ingrain it to her memory with the tiniest amount of error.

The old mage nodded with understanding. He too was shocked by Mr. Colbert's findings. Gandalfr in the modern world… did this mark the founder's second coming? Or had Great Founder expected… wished… or planned great things upon the princess to send her such a powerful familiar? It was hard to say. And while he expected great things of a young mage with so much talent, he never thought she'd have such a grand destiny.

"How do you wish to proceed?" asked the old man. Usually things of such interest like this were reported to the king, however, since Henrietta was a princess and seeing as it is her familiar he felt that her interests were more important. And secretly he was probably more loyal to the young princess than to the aging king.

"Who else knows?" The question was addressed to Old Osmond, but the princess' sharp stare was fixed at the fire magic professor.

"Only the three of us." the old mage answered with a grave tone.

Henrietta pondered her next move. On one hand, she has been waiting years for such a trump card. On the other, she knew next to nothing about the girl she had summoned (other than her strengths as a familiar). And she had Louise's face… which made things a little more difficult.

"For now… I would like this secret to be kept between us and only shared when I allow it."

"Of course, you're highness." Osmond said as he placed a hand over his heart. "I swear that this secret shall pass onto another from me."

Pleased by the old mage's vow, the princess nodded then turned to Mr. Colbert. The balding man drew back a bit, surprised by the coldness of the princess' eyes. But he understood her displeasure of his presence. While most of which wasn't deserved, he did believe that Princess Henrietta did hold some grudge against him for failing to defend Miss Valliere from the constant teasing of her peers... it just happened to be stronger since the said girl's passing. That said, a simple vow would probably not be satisfactory… although he didn't expect her to show him whether his vow was satisfactory or not.

"I would rather burn myself than let this secret out without your permission, you're highness." Mr. Colbert said as he bowed as deeply as he could.

Henrietta looked away from the middle aged professor and said, "I shall hold both of you to your vows." She turned to the book one last time, read its contents, translated and closed it.

"Next… I would like this book sealed and kept somewhere no one is bound to stumble upon it."

"A locking spell wouldn't take too much time and it should be no problem to relocate it to the academy's vault afterwards."

Henrietta handed the book to the old mage. "I want it to be your first priority."

The old mage received the book, careful not to drop it with his flail aged hands. "I will have it done before-!"

Before he could finish his sentence he noticed something had moved on the bed. There now standing was the small girl the princess had summoned days ago. Her pearly white skin was lightly wrapped with a long pink satin nightgown that barely accented her form. Her long and flowing strawberry blonde hair slightly draped over her face as she watched them with her head tilted to one side as she sent them a freezing gaze from her rose colored eyes, while her lips was twisted in the most eerie of smiles. The headmaster felt a familiar emotion that he hadn't felt in a very long time… Terror…

Old Osmond's trepidation didn't go unnoticed. The first to turn was Mr. Colbert. When his eyes met the girl's he felt none of familiarity that he did when he first saw her. Instead it was replaced with panic as his instincts and body told him all that he needed to know.

This girl was easily capable of killing…

Princess Henrietta turned last. As she didn't have anything comparable to the life experience of the two older mages, she didn't notice the dangerous aura that the girl projected and smiled with relief now that she was finally awake.

"You're finally..." Her words were caught in her throat when the girl suddenly vanished from her view leaving with a sound of sodden gust passing strongly.

"You're foolish to think you can trick me by taking that appearance." Declared a familiar voice, but said in a tone alien to the young inexperienced princess.

Despite knowing that magic was useless against the girl, Mr. Colbert had instinctively pointed his wand at her. However, before he could even think of a spell to cast or an action that might work the girl vanished again.

"You're a hindrance." The girl's cold voice whispered sharply from behind the fire mage. He then felt a viselike grip from a small hand dig into his left bicep. A piercing pain followed by a warm sensation flowed onto his skin, but before he could even consider the damage he was pulled off his feet and flung effortlessly towards Old Osmond. Neither the fire specialist nor the old professor could react to the swift efficiency of the attack and collided with each other and one of the princess' dressers.

The crash did, however, make such a loud noise that the guards posted outside the door rushed in with swords drawn.

"Princess!" Three female guards called out in unison.

What greeted them was as an unexpected scene. The two mages that their captain had considered the most skilled were on the floor, unconscious, one over the other, with clothes scattered on top of them and pieces of what used to be a dresser. And to their surprise what defeated them was only a little girl with a little blood on her hand.

One of the guards made the mistake of making eye contact with the girl and instantly felt the girl's menacing aura. Fear gushed into her being, like a broken dam. Panic ensued. Her body wanted her to flee… her mind and training told her to fight. What little sanity that remained told her to do either now.

So… she attacked.

With a loud battle cry the common born soldier rushed at the tiny girl and swung her blade. But the blade never reached the girl as she was no longer at the spot she had slashed at… or to be more accurate she didn't slash where she had planned to nor was she even standing anymore.

The other two guards didn't have time to stop their comrade from charging, but they barely even saw that same comrade of theirs being pulled from the collar of her armor and hurled at them like a nothing more than a feather filled pillow. Unfortunately for them their companion had been thrown at them with more than enough force to knock the wind out of their lungs and caused them both to fall unconscious.

Henrietta had held in a gasp of horror as she could only watch the scene unfold. Two of the most highly regarded magicians in this school defeated in the blink of an eye, battered embarrassingly under a pile of women's clothes as they bleed lightly from splinters and some stray broken wood. Then two of her royal guards easily taken out after the first one had hurled at them like a rag doll. Such was the power of the familiar, Gandalfr…such strength… blinking speed… and unique efficiency… her destined familiar.

But what did she mean by 'trick her'? She tried to steel her heart. It was because she didn't know anything about this girl that she had kept to herself.

"Ugh…" the thrown guard groaned as she tried to remain conscious. She grit her teeth upon realizing that one of her thighs had been pierced by the sword of her friend and blinding pain followed suit when she tried to move one of her hand that just happened to have been broken when she fell.

The young princess watched as the girl slowly walked towards the fallen guard. She could hear her heart pound with each barefooted step the strawberry blonde took. She looked on as the guard struggled to look up at her attacker. Henrietta hoped and prayed that the girl she had summoned would show some mercy seeing as the soldier was already in such a bad shape. But that hoped was dashed when the guard was silenced by a brutal kick to her gut that the guard cough out blood before finally falling unconscious.

Now rid of all the nuisances, Louise turned to her real target. She grew annoyed with each second that she had to stare at the girl's façade… a Henrietta that wasn't. How could she be? Princess Henrietta de Tristain was dead. She had been consumed by the power of her cursed eyes. And at least in her mind and heart she had become part of her… body and soul.

So if this girl wasn't Henrietta… all she could be is a fake. And this had been done before… except none have been so well as this one. There were few other times that the others had tried dressing up a girl to look like Henrietta to convince her to join them, but they weren't well made at all so it had been really easy to tell that they were fake. Some resulted casting an enchantment on the girl to make her look like the princess, but the little things that people take for granted such as scents, color, voice pitch, and most importantly personal knowledge about the princess and herself easily gave them away.

However, this Henrietta before her… Looks just like her, she smells just like her, her eyes and hair was very much alike, her voice was completely identical and even the way she moved, down to the way her muscles twitched was absolutely the same. If she was to be honest, she was intrigued when she first saw her… if she had not passed out she might have fallen for it out of delusion and weakness. But after a long nightmare filled sleep that reminded her of everything… she wasn't about to fall for even such a well done ploy.

She walked towards the young lady who had assumed her princess' form. To her surprise this young lady stood her ground, although she could tell that this young lady was frightened inside, just like how Henrietta faced a man five times her size to protect her.

"I don't know what kind of forbidden magic or rule fragment you're using to assume the princess' form. But know that it's pointless to pretend that you are some else… especially if you're pretending to be Princess Henrietta." She declared with a certain potency in her tone.

"Just what do you mean by that?" The pretender asked with the voice, the tone and carried with the same emotions that Louise had expected to come with it… if it were truly Princess Henrietta.

"Do I have to spell it out?" Louise smiled maliciously. "You're a fake… although I must admit that out of all the people that tried you've done the best job… It's really hard to see any difference. But in the end there is easy evidence to know that you're a fake."

The eyes of the Henrietta in front of her narrowed into a hostile gaze, as if she was barely able to stand the indignation to the slight of her honor and identity. "And what would that evidence be?" she asked as if to play along with her… just as Henrietta would.

"Princess Henrietta is dead."

Henrietta gasped aloud surprised by the revelation and the coincidence. The story was slowly coming together in her mind. This girl was Louise… not the Louise she had lost, but a Louise from another world (if the stories that Old Osmond had told her were to be taken into account). And this Louise had mistaken her for a false Henrietta, but considering what she had just declared it was an inevitable conclusion.

She wanted to know more. The existence of a parallel world, according to magic theory, was possible… summoned familiars are a testament to that. But for her to have a sentient person as evidence of it was astonishing. However, this was not the time for it as she needed to calm this Louise down.

But how could she? This girl clearly believed that she was a copy of sorts made in an attempt to trick her into joining them... and it probably didn't help her conscience knowing that in way it was true.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was pushed down, albeit a bit gently, onto her own bed. "Louise… please calm down for a moment."

"I am calm." this Louise graced her with a calm smile. "Don't worry… I'll spare you. I'm just curious as to what kind of magic they performed to make you look so realistic."

"I have an idea as to what you're talking about, however, I feel that I should at least tell you this, I am Princess Henrietta de Tristain!"

"Pft-" the girl tried to hold something down her throat for a moment. "…he-hi…ha…ha…"

It was then that she was treated to a surprise. A sound so incredibly familiar, something she's heard hundreds of times… the sound of Louise's wholehearted laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Her voice rang in the air like a wonderful melody that Henrietta had missed for so long. A sad tear threatened to come out… she tried her best not to blink or show weakness.

She said nothing… despite feeling a little humiliated, she held it in. She knew the girl was trying to intimidate her. But oddly hearing Louise's voice laugh so happily was welcomed… even though she was laughing at her.

When the girl's laughter finally died down, she looked at Henrietta with an expression that she's seen on Louise all too often. It was then that she accepted it… this was truly Louise, not her Louise… but it was Louise.

"Ah- I haven't laughed so hard in years." said Louise as she wiped a tear from her eye.

She got onto the bed, straddled the young lady and held her down by her shoulder for good measure. "Now then… reveal your true form to me or I will make you."

Not at all surprising that the fake Henrietta just stared up at her, in exactly the same indignant way she expected Henrietta would should she be in such a position. "Very well then…"

She closed her eyes and delved into her power reserve, which wasn't at all hard as it was full to the brim, she let it loose into her veins to flood into her eyes. When she opened them again the world would be seen differently in her eyes. And a different girl laid on the bed…

Or at least that's how it should have been.

A gasp escaped her lips. Surprise, confusion, question, impossibility… flashed into her mind. What she was seeing… it just couldn't be.

"Anri?" the nickname she called the princess slipped out of her mouth.

* * *

Henrietta was a shocked to see her eyes glow again. It was something she had shrugged off as part of the familiar marking. But it seemed like she was mistaken. She didn't know why they glowed as they did or why this Louise had to make them glow. However, she had an eerie feeling as those eyes marked with a flaming cross looked at her in a way that pierced through her very soul.

She did not know what to expect to come next. Would she become violent? – Possibly. However, the familiar binding will prevent her from doing too much physical harm… or at least that's how it should work. But she wasn't at all feeling very confident that even the familiar binding will save her from Gandalfr. After all this girl has proven that she could toss an armored knight guard without intent to kill, who was to say such a throw wouldn't kill a student princess, who has only lifted two books at a time, dressed only in summer uniform.

But then something moist touched her face. She blinked twice confused for a moment then noticed tears forming in the eyes of the girl on top of her. Her calm smile was gone, replaced by bewilderment, puzzlement, shock and something else… joy?

Then the girl whispered a name, "Anri?" her tone, Henrietta recognized, was that of someone who wished only the truth… something she was willing to give.

So she shook her head, which garnered the girl's surprised dismay, and said, "I am Henrietta de Tristain, my runic name is Henrietta the Adept. I the only princess of the kingdom of Tristain, at times called the Flower of Tristain. To my Louise I am known as Ann."

"Ann?" the girl echoed as if testing the name.

The princess nodded. "And I used to call my Louise, Lizy."

"Used… to?"

She gave the girl a sad acceptant smile. "She's gone too… the Louise of this world."

* * *

"…of this world…" as she weakly echoed those three key words, Louise finally noticed it. From the moment she activated the power of her cursed eyes she was sure she had seen it... this world's truth, the shape of its magic, the flow of its leylines. It was all very different… almost alien.

She cut off the flow of magic from her eyes, jumped off the bed, sharply turning away from the princess and looked around the room for something she could use.

In her mind, everything was a mess. Where was she? Who is this young woman really? What was the truth. A side of her told her to just ignore it and taunted her to eat this young lay while she was still brimming with an innocently flavored power and magic, but she resisted. And while she had accepted that she was a monster that ate people, she wasn't about to eat indiscriminately… especially when she's not hungry. Although, if she had to be honest, had someone else told her all this… she wouldn't even consider it until after she had beheaded them and eaten their brains. If she had not used her cursed eyes to see the truth of this young lady, she might not even be considering what the world she saw strange (at least not immediately).

She shrugged the thoughts of consuming a human being of her mind. Nothing made someone think they were hungry when they're not faster like thinking of eating.

Besides she had more important things to do than food right now. She had to- no… needed to- no… she wanted to know for sure. 'Is she telling the truth?' Her first priority was to find out.

She found a robe lying on the floor near where the mages she had thrown had fallen. She picked it up and placed it over the thin nightgown that she already had on. But as she turned to the door to leave, the supposedly Henrietta of this world called out to her.

"Louise, where are you going?"

Louise stopped and stood still to hide a secret smile. She was touched that this Henrietta had no illusions that she was her Louise and proved it without being told to by calling her by her first name.

She bit her lip a little to rid herself of her smile and turned her head slightly so an eye met the young lady who had now sat up on the bed. "It's none of your business."

Henrietta opened her mouth to say something… but nothing that sounded right came to mind.

Noticing her silence Louise turned away and decided to go. But before she could take the step out the door 'this world's' Henrietta called her attention again. "Louise!"

She stopped, but didn't turn or reply this time.

"If you need anything, please come to me anytime… and know that I will always help you."

Louise turned her head one more time, only this time far enough that both their eyes met once again. She looked at the young woman seriously. In her heart she was happy… yet annoyed, so she tried hard to keep a smile off her face. She did, however, gave her an affirming blink along with a minute nod before she turned away and left the room.

Henrietta could only watch as the Louise from another world vanished into a mist of red light. She let out a heavy disappointed breath. She had hoped things had gone better. But she was happy that the subjugation effect of the contract familiar wasn't very strong, that made her conscience feel a bit lighter. And while her familiar had left her, it was alright with her. Her objective wasn't to have a familiar, it was to fulfill Louise's dream.

But it wouldn't be so bad… to be friends with this new Louise. She just knew that the two of them could have what she and Louise had.

**To be continued…**


End file.
